Death trap driveway

Eldi_Dos

Lbuk said

Can I bang my own ‘Slow - Concealed Entrance’ sign into the grass verge or can I get an official one put in and how would I do that?

Be wary of doing that yourself as the majority of verges will have some sort of service running in them and you cannot take it for granted they will be at correct depth.

GDB2222

Section62 said:

Lbuk said:

Can I bang my own ‘Slow - Concealed Entrance’ sign into the grass verge...

People do, but technically it is illegal to do so.  Some councils will routinely remove them.  If you do put one up then you may be held liable if it causes an accident or injury to road users.

Lbuk said:

...or can I get an official one put in and how would I do that?

You can ask the highway authority, but they should apply criteria to requests before agreeing to them.  E.g. that the entrance is actually concealed, rather than it being solely an issue with your own visibility of oncoming traffic.  "Concealed" means the access is not visible to oncoming traffic.

If they agree, they may try to charge a fee, which I'd expect to be in the region of £500.

As with your rear fence issue - the responsibility for safety is largely yours.  If your access onto the highway is unsafe then you have the responsibility to make it safer, or use it in a way which reduces risk (e.g. get someone to guide you out of the driveway and/or only turn out of the drive in the safer of the two directions)

It is also illegal to stick your own mirror up, but it makes sense to do that to avoid a serious risk. If traffic is doing 60mph I imagine that an accident could result in fatalities. 

I would prioritise the mirror over the signs, as it puts the safety angle in your hands rather than just hoping drivers will slow down. 

Bradden

It might be worth speaking to the Highways dept at your council. If it's dangerous they may be able to help.

ProDave

If you were trying to build a new house there now, you would not get permission for that driveway without the required visibility which is quite a distance.

The best you can do is widen it and clear it as much as your land allows, put up a mirror opposite if you can, and only turn left out of your drive so only one stream of traffic to worry about and turn around somewhere safer up the road.

Section62

ProDave said:

The best you can do is widen it and clear it as much as your land allows...

Worth mentioning that altering the access onto the road may need planning consent and/or highway authority consent as well.

Vectis

I'm not saying it's right, but the majority of drivers won't take any notice of a Concealed Entrance sign and even less a home-made sign.

I'd certainly opt for the mirror and clearing any trees, hedges etc to give you a line of sight.

But, I have to ask, didn't you foresee this problem when you bought the house or have circumstances changed since then e.g. you didn't used to have a car?

born_again

Mirror also allows on coming drivers chance to see you.

ProDave

Spare a thought for a house near me.

His drive exits just after a bend.

He only ever turns left.  He has to drive (facing forwards) to the edge of the road.  Get out of his car.  Peer around the bend to see oncoming cars.  When there is a break in the traffic he then gets into the car and exits.  He can see far enough once he peers round the bend that there is time to get back in and drive off before anything can reach him.

user1977

Vectis said:

But, I have to ask, didn't you foresee this problem when you bought the house or have circumstances changed since then e.g. you didn't used to have a car?

The OP seems to never return to their threads, so I wouldn't expect a reply.

rigolith

Another option is CCTV that you can view from your phone.